Of dreams, imaginations and childhood

There is something mystical and enchanting about the unknown. Sometimes I wish we are not in the Information era, where you have a logical reason (well millions in fact, if one were to search Google), for everything.

What triggered this thought was the news report that Chandrayan 1 has reached the lunar orbit and planted Indian Tri Colour on the lunar surface. A very credible achievement by ISRO, considering the state they were in the 1970's, when they were the butt of every second mimicry troupe. (For eg: The American saying that he will send another rocket to destroy the rocket he has sent before to space so that the debris doesnt fall on earth, Russian saying he will send another rocket to retrieve the one he sent earlier, while the contemplative ISRO scientist saying quietly that he will send divers to retrieve the rocket he has fired, for almost all of them ended up under the sea near Sriharikota).

Chandrayan 1, for me totally demystifies the moon. I know man first landed on Moon in 1969. But hey! that was by the US Astronauts, not Indians. Now the reality has come closer to home.

There are two things one was never tired of watching for hours - Full Moon and a fully grown majestic male Elephant. Even today, I love to watch the full moon in all its glory.

Contrary to its link with romanticism, Full moon evokes a melancholy feeling in me - for it was on a full moon day that I lost my father, with whom I was very close. It is almost as if he looks down on me from the moon on those days. Sounds absurd, but strage are the associations formed by the mind.

One needs mystic objects and abstract unknowns to dream. I don't know what children of these days dream of. I am sure they have their own dream world.

Is it about Full moon, elephants, or mythical animals?. Pegasus, the white flying horse from the greek mythology, was a favourite of mine. Bellerophon, taming Pegasus, to fight the triple headed monster Chimera was rivetting to me as a child. Imagining sitting on a flying horse made many of my childhood days. In the story, there is a young Greek boy who helps Bellerophon to capture Pegasus and bridle him. I always put me in that young boys place in my imagination.

Would really love to know what today's kids dream of. Can someone enlighten me?

Till then let me black out my mind about Chandrayaan 1 and the controversy surrounding elephants in captivity in Kerala. Let me be the child that I always was.

Allow me to look up and speak to the rabbit hidden in the full moon!